6. Six

Six

Willow

The sounds of low laughter, the wind blowing through the cracked door, and the gentle stream of the waterfall in the bathroom pull me from my slumber.

Really, it should’ve kept me asleep with how peaceful the noise is. How peaceful the whole atmosphere is.

Stretching my limbs, groaning happily as I starfish across our bed, a small laugh tumbles out of me when I think about how long it’s been since I’ve had a bed to myself. Even with my arms and legs sprawled out as far as I can reach, I’m nowhere near touching any end and there’s still enough room for my men to join me.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Crawling out of bed quietly, I tiptoe across the floor to the bathroom, smiling as the sound of the four of them laughing and their talking grows louder. I don’t want them to hear or realize I’m awake and come piling in here. I’d rather join them out there.

Quickly taking care of what I need to and plopping my hair on top of my head in a bun, I rush out the French doors to our new balcony and hum happily when the aroma of coffee and the fresh morning air fills my senses .

“Well, look who decided to join us,” Draken teases as he lifts me off my feet and spins me around. He attacks my throat in playful kisses, causing me to laugh and fight my way out of his grip.

He doesn’t let me get far, though, as he grips the back of my neck and pulls me in for a blistering kiss.

Fuck, this dragon knows how to properly greet a girl when she wakes up.

“How did you sleep, princess?” Corentin asks as he passes me a cup of coffee when Draken sits me comfortably on Tillman’s lap.

“Amazing actually,” I say, sighing happily at my first taste of sugary goodness.

“I bet so after that mind-blowing—”

“Draken,” Corentin and Tillman bark, while Caspian chuckles darkly. My face flames red as his gaze traces all over me. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but the longer he looks, the hotter I grow.

“Orgy,” Draken whispers in my mind, breaking me out of the inferno Caspian’s eyes put me in.

Shaking my head, laughing over the rim of my mug, I lean my head back onto my gentle giant’s chest as he twirls my hair around his fingers. “I should be exhausted honestly. Even after the mind-blowing orgy,” I say slyly, grinning and shooting Draken a wink as they all groan around me, “I slept like the dead even though my mind never shut off.”

“What do you mean it didn’t shut off? I didn’t hear any thoughts all night,” Tillman says, halting his soothing caresses.

“Not thoughts, dreams. Well, actually memories. My mind spent the night uncovering new ones, replaying those that had alternate endings. None of the negative shit. They each were peaceful, fond, and loving. It’s a relief, honestly. I don’t feel like my brain is soup anymore.”

“Good then, little warrior,” he says softly, kissing me on the top of my head.

“We’re due to meet everyone for breakfast in a few, princess,” Corentin says, setting his drink down and lacing his fingers.

My serious man .

He’s waiting for me to say something, gauge how I’m feeling about that. He’ll be shocked to find out I’m incredibly excited. There’s not an ounce of nervousness in me.

“I can’t wait to be officially introduced.” I chuckle when all four of them seemingly freeze and look at me like I spoke in another language. “Why did you all expect me to be nervous or worried about this?”

“Well, because yesterday was a lot. Plus, we don’t exactly know the relationship you formed with Momma Vito. We just figured you’d be as nervous as you were when we first got here,” Draken says.

Ah, I see.

Turning my attention back to Corentin, he’ll be the one to take charge and explain everything to his mom and dads about me when the time comes, so I give him a small, reassuring smile.

“I don’t know exactly what CC informed your dads. All my communication was with your mom, and I didn’t keep too much a secret from her, aside from everything Franklin did to me. She was…let’s just say in my eyes, she was my idol growing up. I can’t begin to explain how happy I am that she’s also my mother-in-law. That was a sweet little secret kept from me. Just based on what Gaster said, she knew I was your Primary, so I imagine there’s not much from my life back in the nonmagical realm she doesn’t know. I’ve waited what feels like my entire life to meet her.”

I blush a little, thinking about all the letters we wrote to one another. She was the one who explained to me what a period was. She taught me about basic feminine hygiene. How to do my hair, makeup, all kinds of girly shit I never would’ve known about had it not been for her. Not only that, but she also just talked to me. Told me about her day, gave me tips on my earth element. She was just there for me.

The sound of one of their timekeepers ringing pulls me out of my mind and I smile around at all of them. I see the hints of concern in their eyes, but I’m fine. I’ll probably drift into my memories a lot here at first, but they’ll calm down with time. For now, they’re just fresh and new to me, so I allow myself to wander into them when they come forth.

“Is that the alarm to get ready?” I ask, setting my coffee down .

“The alarm to head down there,” Caspian says with a smirk, to which I nearly choke on my drink.

“What? You all were just gonna let me sleep till the last second? I need to look halfway decent,” I shout as I sprint back through the French doors. Their laughs follow me in, and I’m tempted to lock them all out.

No, I’m not nervous and I know Aurora wouldn’t expect me to come down in a ballgown, looking flawless, but damn, I’m in Tillman’s shirt, no underwear, with my hair on top of my head.

I look freshly fucked.

“Vulgar mind, little warrior. Keep those thoughts to yourself during breakfast, yeah?” Tillman says with a smirk when he emerges in the bathroom behind me.

I narrow my eyes because he has the nastiest mouth I’ve ever heard. Granted, yes, he mostly whispers it to me in my mind, but still, the man has a dirty mouth.

“You love my dirty mouth.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. Your pussy doesn’t lie,” he says with a wink as my body comes alive. The caress of his element sweeping over me, dressing me in a flowy sundress, does nothing but add to the fire.

“Come on, you two, we’re gonna be the last ones to join,” Corentin says from the doorway with a sly smile on his lips that tells me Tillman didn’t just speak that in my mind but everyone’s.

After he dresses me and I do what I can with my hair, I purposely shimmy my ass right across his dick as I scoot by him, laughing mischievously as I run through the door when he tries to grab me. I only make it three steps before being swooped up in shadows.

“Naughty Primary,” Caspian murmurs against my lips.

“He started it,” I say breathlessly.

“Behave or I’ll finish it.”

With that, he hits me with a brutal kiss before passing me off to Draken and Corentin, who latch on to each hand, basically dragging me from the room since my head is spinning.

Fuck, these men drive me wild .

How’s a girl supposed to focus on anything when they just ooze sex appeal?

Lucky for me, as we approach the ward, and no more sexual comments or innuendos are being thrown my way, I can focus on something other than them. For example, I hope and pray Aurora is as excited to officially meet me as I am her. Now that both of our memories of one another are returned, I hope there’s no awkwardness, no hesitation, and we skip right to the part of her loving me.

Damn, that’s a little desperate, Willow.

“Not desperate at all, Will. There’s no doubt she already loves you. Aunt Rory has always been one to step up and love someone who needs it,” Tillman says gently in my mind.

I smile gratefully at him, although I hear the underlying sadness that he tries to hide. I won’t bring it up yet, but the burning need to ask him if he’s okay and about the cute nickname has been heavy on my mind. It would seem my calm, collected, seemingly unaffected gentle giant isn’t as healed from his past as he’s led me to believe.

“We’re now officially late. We’ll transport to the central quarters once we’re through the ward,” Corentin says exasperatedly as he shoves his communicator in his pocket. I snicker at his flustered state although I shouldn’t, but he acts like this is a business meeting. Not breakfast with his parents.

“Yes, your highness,” I tease, earning myself a small twitch of his lips.

Pushing out of the ward is painless, thankfully, and in seconds, we’re on the other side. It’s a relief to see that nothing is destroyed or at least it’s still not destroyed from my loss of control and the ward coming down. I already feel bad enough for what I did to the central foyer.

The guys give me no time to get a full look around. Before I know it, we’re stepping out of a transport in front of a set of double doors and I can hear the murmuring voices behind it clearly.

“They will be here momentarily, Aurora, calm yourself,” a male voice commands, but there’s a lightness in his tone. I can’t tell which of my fathers-in-law it is, but the authority mixed with softness in his voice reminds me of Corentin .

“Calm down? Did you seriously just tell me to calm down?” Aurora fires back, causing me to laugh.

The room silences as the sound travels through the doors and I prepare myself when I hear chairs skid backward and the pattering of feet basically running my way.

“For fuck’s sake. Brace yourself, Primary. They’re all apparently going to greet you at the door,” Caspian says sarcastically.

He’s right, though, because when the doors fly open, Aurora is center stage, nestled between her men. A few feet behind them are Gaster and Keeper, smiling at us.

“Hi,” I say shyly, suddenly choked with emotions.

“Oh, my girl. It really has been a lifetime,” Aurora says as her arms come around me, pulling me into her chest, and I melt.

After a long, loving moment, she pulls back, cupping my cheeks and smiling so brightly at me it’s nearly blinding. This is everything I always wanted it to be.

“I’m so glad you’re finally home,” she whispers as tears gather in her eyes.

“I’m happy to have finally found my home.”

“I was preparing to go stand outside your ward until you came out. The wait was killing me. What in the realm took you all so long?” she asks, standing back and crossing her arms.

I chuckle as my face turns red, but Corentin’s quick to my rescue as he pulls me in close, squeezing my hip. “We were sleeping in, Mom. We had a long day yesterday. How about some quick introductions and let’s eat? I’m starving.”

“Of course, of course,” she says nonchalantly with an eye roll and then waves him off. Again, I can’t help but laugh.

She’s exactly how I pictured her. CC described her to a T. Loving and funny but with so much sass to spare. Those were his exact words, and I see it now. Although I know for a fact, she could turn this sweet and kind persona around in a heartbeat if need be. She told me once how she liked to keep her Matriarchal side away from her family as much as possible. She wanted them to experience the less stressed side of her, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t let it come out if the situation called for it.

Her voice is light and playful, which makes the memories of her letters to me so much more animated because when I let my mind’s eye read over her words, I hear her voice now instead of my own.

“Willow, I’d like to properly introduce you to your Patera-Nexus. This is Roye, Theo, Neil, and you’ve met Dyce already,” Aurora says, pointing to each of her men.

“Yeah, her favorite father-in-law as she called me,” Dyce says as he damn near tackles me in a hug.

“I have five fathers-in-law. I won’t be picking favorites,” I say, chuckling as he sets me back on the ground and the guys pull me back in the middle of them. The rest of my Patera-Nexus all roll their eyes at Dyce then smile warmly at me.

It catches me off guard at first when they each step up and take a turn hugging me tightly, but I let the surprise go and just embrace it. I’ll have to play catch-up on learning about them.

Suddenly, appreciation and excitement hit me square in my chest, and my eyes dart behind Aurora, where I find Keeper beaming at me. I give him a small smile when I realize it was my claim of five fathers-in-law that he’s so excited about. It felt natural to say it and I don’t feel anything negative coming from Draken about it right now, so I just move on without drawing too much attention to it.

“I’m ready for another cup of coffee and some food. Whatever’s on the table smells delicious,” I say, attempting to peer over the wall Aurora and her men have created.

My eyes nearly fall out of my head at the spread in front of me. From one end of the table that’ll seat at least twenty people to the other, there’s an array of food. It’s as if every breakfast dish I’ve had since arriving in Elementra is on this table, waiting to be devoured.

“Are we feeding an army?” Corentin says, looking over the mound of food.

“Chef came early this morning and started ordering my kitchen around. Apparently, nothing but the best for you lot,” Dyce teases .

My happy hum at the first bite of a steamy breakfast casserole spurs everyone else on and we easily, seamlessly fall into conversation. It’s so normal, natural, I get choked up when I think about how this is truly the first time I’ve been in the room with all of them. It doesn’t feel that way. It feels as though it’s only been a while since we were all together.

“I wanted to wait until you all had at least a plate of food before I brought this up,” Aurora says as she clears her throat and sets her silverware down.

“Here we go,” Caspian murmurs. Even in my mind, sarcasm drips from his words.

“We figured you’d want to talk, Mom,” Corentin says, his tone the opposite of his brother’s.

“I want to explain a few things as simply as possible because Orien sure knew how to weave a confusing web,” she says, rolling her eyes lovingly before looking at me seriously. “The first time he told me about you, he told me to call you filia mea on the day I meet you in person. He told me what it meant, where it came from, then took the memory. The night before he passed, once he’d taken my memories back already, he told me a different version as if he wanted a backup plan. He told me one day I’d meet my sons’ Primary, and I’m to call her filia mea . He told me again what it meant, where it came from, and said I had two opinions. One, tell you its meaning, or two, allow you to find out on your own. I had all intentions of telling you, but I had no idea calling you that would cause what it did and I’m so sorry about that.” She pauses, clearing her throat again and closing her eyes while she catches her breath. “I think it’s best for you to find out on your own now.”

“It’s okay and I agree,” I whisper, reassuring her I’m not upset she won’t tell me.

She nods, blowing out a breath, then continues, “Other than the communication you and I had, he didn’t give us any warning or a heads-up about what to expect once you got here. We knew you were the boys’ Primary, and we knew Elementra was tasking you all with something beyond our understanding at the time, but that’s pretty much it. And with the way Corentin, no offense, son, has been slacking on his communications with me, I know it was because of things going on with you. I’m not upset now that I understand that, but I need to know the truth. I need to know you all are safe.”

The concern and sincerity in her voice cuts me. I didn’t really think about it until now how the aftermath of everything would make her feel. It was one thing to be left in the dark when she had no clue who I was other than a random seer, but now that she’s put two and two together, it’s written all over her face that she’s worried sick.

“We didn’t mean to hurt you by keeping Willow a secret. It was just for the best. Once you know everything, it’ll be easier to understand,” Corentin says softly and I squeeze his hand to help try to wash away the guilt I feel pouring from him.

“I believe that. I do. I just want some answers. You all don’t have to include every little personal detail, but at least the big stuff,” she pleads.

I turn my head to Corentin, giving him permission with my eyes to let everything out. There’s nothing I need to hide from her anymore, any of them, so if he wants, he can tell it all.

“Do you want me to just tell them, or would you rather show them?” he asks, and my eyes widen at the choice. I would’ve thought for sure he would’ve jumped all over the opportunity to finally spill all the beans.

“Really?”

“This is your life we’re discussing, princess. You should have the choice of how everyone finds out everything.”

My heart thuds wildly in my chest and I give him a grateful smile. I didn’t think of this being an option. Why, I don’t know. I guess I’m just used to him being the one delivering all the news, but the more I think about it, the more I do want to be the one to be honest about it all.

“I’d like to show you all what we’ve been leaving out, if that’s okay?” I ask, turning to Aurora and my Patera-Nexus.

“Show us? How would you do that?” Roye asks skeptically, arching his brow.

Caspian and Draken snort and shake their heads while Corentin, Tillman, Gaster, and even Keeper smile at me. Aurora and the guys just look around as if we’ve lost our minds .

“My magic will need to lock onto your magical signatures, then I can broadcast the events to you. You’ll see it through my mind as if you were watching my memories.”

Quietness falls over them that makes me fidget in my seat. They’re shocked still with their mouths gaping open and the collective tension grows in the room.

“How…is that possible?” Aurora asks quietly after a long stretch of silence.

“It’ll make sense soon. As soon as I show you.”

She pulls herself out of her stupor faster than her men and gives me a confident, ready, and willing nod before hissing her men’s names to get them back on track. I chuckle as they shake themselves out and stare at me in amazement.

Most of the people I spend my days with, you know, my men, Gaster, Oakly, her Nexus, and lately Lyker, Aria, and their Nexus, have grown used to me being able to do shit normal people can’t, so it’s funny to me to see the royal family frozen in astonishment.

“Full disclosure, there’re going to be some things that are hard to see, and I apologize for that. There will also be parts I skip over. Trust that there’s a reason you don’t need to see it,” I murmur awkwardly, completely ignoring Draken’s knowing chuckle.

“Center yourself, little warrior. Think back to the moment you’d like to start, then breathe. These are your memories to control, not someone else’s, so show as little or as much as you want. Imagine yourself speeding through time on the parts you want to skip. It may even be best to black it out,” Tillman coaches gently in my mind and I instinctively start regulating my breathing.

“Everyone ready?” I ask and at the echoing consents, I push my magic out.

There’s a little resistance from my fathers-in-law, and by accident, I swear, I force my way right through it. I do shoot them a guilty smile when they startle, but that’s all the time for reactions we have before my mind sucks them in and I close my eyes.

I start at the beginning .

And by beginning, I mean the moment I walked up on my tree and found my gift on my birthday.

From there, I let them see it all.

Donald’s initiation, Gaster rescuing me, our original bond snapping in place, Oakly, her bond snapping in place. The moment in the breakfast room when Corentin and I had our awakening.

My first day of classes including that ass beating I took. Plus the ass beating Tillman gave Claven.

I don’t let them witness it all, but I show them the moments of Draken’s and my awakening. Followed by mine and Tillman’s.

I relive the panic I felt during Tillman and Caspian’s kidnappings. Caspian telling me the truth and my earth element breaking free. I skip over me running off to Oakly’s then returning. That feels too personal to share.

I smugly show off the altercation between Gima and me. Knowing what we know now, I wish I had done worse. Nonetheless, we carry on through the memories at the speed of light.

The at the time Terravile pack Alpha, Jarod, showing up at the academy. Me seeing his mark and putting together who the rebels plaguing Elementra are. Gaster teaching me the concealment and dimension spell. Followed by my first gift emerging. The sight.

For the obvious, I skip over Draken’s and my bonding, but I show them the morning after. My fire. My dragon. My first flight. The two-day coma.

Elementra.

The visions of Lyker that haunted my dreams. The deadly cures and why Gaster brought a batch of them here. The Alpha trials at Terravile. Me taking the deadly dagger. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t taken the dagger to the stomach. Saving Aria.

The morning following Tillman’s and my bonding. My gift of Mind Transference. How the sound of everyone’s voices brought me to my knees in pain.

The debrief we had where we discussed my first assumption of what the Mastery was doing to the individuals they were kidnapping. Meeting Layton, followed by his medically induced coma he’s still in. All the Terravile Mastery members dying in the castle that triggered my first trip to the past .

The Summum-Master. Keeper.

The beginning of our planning for getting in the Forsaken Forest.

The vision I had of what was going to happen to the academy. Even as deep in my mind as I am, a lump still forms in my throat. Fuck, I was so angry, scared. But it had to be done.

My kidnapping.

I don’t conceal the torture Franklin put me through.

Donald. Max. Bryce…Trex.

The cuts, bites, burning, bruises, blood draining.

Or all the information I learned. CC’s guidance.

Sitting on that bathroom floor, giving up on myself for the first time in my life. Our mental link snapping in place.

I don’t hide the vile things said to me that day. I don’t shy away from Donald’s crude words and vulgar intentions. I let it all be seen so my hatred is understood even more than it already is.

The battle. Max’s death. My inability to heal all at once.

Capturing Trex. Capturing Franklin.

The Bane of Essence.

The damage done to my body.

I show the sweet glances Corentin shared with me the morning after our bonding.

What Tillman showed me with his mind about Gima’s part in the academy’s ward coming down.

Finding out that Trex is a pawn in all this and his brother’s need for our help. Franklin’s story about my mother. The past, where Elementra allowed me to see my mom escape the chains in Franklin’s torture room. I show that snippet with pride. She was such a badass.

My gift of Light Bending emerging. How no one could hear or see me in the clearing by our tree.

Nikoli identifying all the ingredients in the Bane of Essence. Jamie rerunning my blood and discovering Lyker is my brother. Going to Terravile to tell him the truth. CC’s memory of my mom coming through the portal. The day she had to leave Lyker behind and return to Franklin.

Our mom’s house. Finding the Willowrrie flower.

The meaning of my name.

The grueling training Oakly and I were put through in preparation for us to leave for the forest. Then me falling into the past as we vialed up the Bane of Essence.

I skip over Keeper’s past as that’s not my moment to share. That will be a story first for him and Draken to talk about. Hopefully.

Franklin…The Summum-Master’s my grandfather.

I slow down the moment and let his words ring clear in my mind for everyone to hear, but I also don’t hide my loathing, my zero intentions of acknowledging that blood relation. Then with pride swelling in my chest, I show the moment when, with my men, my brother, and Ry, my brother from a bond by my side, we end my torturer’s life. How I sealed his fate using the same powerful words Aurora did when she had to make that same difficult decision.

My dream walking with Tanith and how she instructed me on how to save Keeper.

I can’t show the moment my shadows emerged with Caspian, but I show the morning my water tried to drown me, and my shadows came out to play that day.

The Forsaken Forest.

The moment I moved Oakly out of the way would make me laugh at any other time. She was pissed, to say the least. That humor flees me as Keeper pins me to the tree, baring his fangs, ready to rip my throat out. I allow the words I whispered that the guys didn’t hear the first time around play out loud and clear. They’ve never pushed me for all the information. The revelation of him being Draken’s father was enough of answers for all of them.

The battle saving Tanith.

The rage-filled beating I gave Donald. I wish more than anything I had killed him right then and there. Been done with it. But his time will come. He won’t escape this realm alive.

The Summum-Master’s and my exchange. His dark promises, as well as mine. The explosion of power.

I will be his ruin .

The bomb Keeper dropped about my bloodline being the guardians of the portals. I’m still ignoring that, but my time of ignorance is ending.

Concealing my naked body, I show the moment my gifts and elements exploded out of me after our bonding. I’m not even sure what it means fully aside from the fact that our souls are now truly tied together, but that level of power I released seems relevant.

Meeting Aurora. Her triggering my memories.

The South Wing.

Slowly, I start cutting away the strings of magic that’re tied to my mind, starting with Aurora and the rest of my Patera-Nexus, then making my way around my men. The moment I cut the last string, I sway in my chair and my vision doubles.

Fuck.

Without missing a beat, Corentin shoves a healing vial between my lips and tilts my chin back for me. I still can’t muster the strength to open my eyes. I had no clue it was going to take this much out of me, but this is also the first time I’ve shown months’ worth of memories.

My mind scrambles, attempting to put all the newly constructed pieces back together again and in the meantime, I sit here statue-still, regulating my breathing so I don’t throw up.

“That was…” one of the guys’ dads says, but I haven’t heard them talk enough, aside from Dyce, to know their voices.

“Give it a minute, Dad. She needs a moment,” Caspian says harshly. I grin despite the pain the muscles in my face cause in my head.

“Take another one, princess. That one is taking too long to kick in, or it just isn’t enough, but your pain’s killing me,” Corentin whispers as he presses another vial to my mouth.

“What do you mean?” I slur.

He laughs quietly, running his fingers down my temple gently.

“I’ve felt every part of you I’ve wanted to since we bonded as a Nexus, princess. There’s not a part of you I can’t feel.”

“You feel me all the time or when you focus?” I ask, far more aware than I was two seconds ago.

“When I focus. ”

Blinking my eyes open, I look at him, stunned, then slowly, not to spin my brain around again, I seek out the others. They’re all wearing matching smirks.

They all can feel me. Not just through my bond.

Holy shit.

“I should’ve pushed harder. I should’ve made him bring you home the day you emerged. I should’ve ordered it,” Aurora says. Before I even turn to look at her, I hear the tears in her tone.

My heart splits open when I see the steady streams pouring out of her eyes. Her emotional pain cuts me deep and the darkening of her aura makes me wish I didn’t show her all of that, but they needed to see it. They needed to be caught up because our time is coming. I feel it in my soul.

Things are changing. Rapidly.

“It all worked out the way it was supposed to,” I say gently and she shakes her head, balling her fist on the table.

“What was your life like after he died and we lost communication? Did you…what did he leave you to live through there?” she asks angrily, and I understand that anger, but it’s not his fault.

Shaking my head, I give her a small, sad smile. “There’s no need to dredge that up. I don’t know exactly why I had to stay there, after my emerging or my eighteenth birthday came. You saw his memories and where he left it off. I still must figure that out, but you have to believe it was the right thing to do. I believe that.”

The argument is sitting on her tongue. It’s written all over her face. All over her men’s face. The tremble in each of their arms, the quiet, serious demeanors show the restraint they’re using to hold their emotions back right now.

“Listen, I know what you all just saw and found out is hard. It’s been very hard for us from the second I stepped foot in this realm, but regardless if we like it or not, it’s out of our hands. For the most part. We have decisions to make at every turn and those decisions have consequences that lay our paths for us. We have to accept the path that was laid for us prior to now. With our loss of memories, gaining them back, and everything we have in front of us, we just have to move forward. We have a society to crumble and a realm to save.”

My words are firm, and I leave no room for argument.

If we start falling down the pits of could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, we’ll never get anything done. And if I continue to bury my head in the sand about the truth of who I am, we’re going to lose this war.

We can’t afford that.

I refuse it.

“Our daughter-in-law is right, my angel,” Dyce says quietly and his sweet nickname for Aurora makes my lip tremble.

How freaking cute. And fitting. She looks like an angel.

“I know. It’s still difficult to accept. We could’ve taken care of her,” she says quietly, looking into his eyes while he nods.

“We could’ve, but it wasn’t our job yet. It was Orien’s, then it was Willow’s own responsibility. Not that that means she should’ve experienced whatever she did, but obviously, being here would’ve been worse. We believe that. And we take care of her now,” he states.

I don’t even mind that they’re speaking as if I’m not sitting right here because their sweet words and his sound reasoning calm me down as much as they do her.

“Well, then it’s decided. We start training tomorrow,” she says with a confident nod, forcefully wiping her tears away.

Yes, exact—wait, what?

“I’m sorry. Did you say training? Training for what?” I ask.

Full-fledged panic mode.

If she says to rule the realm, I’ll die right now.

“Calm down, my girl. I have no intentions of throwing the throne at you all,” she says with a little laugh at my horror-stricken face. “There’s so much none of you know about what it truly means to be a completed true Nexus. Things you won’t find in your books and lessons. We’ll be teaching you. Starting tomorrow.”

Turning my gaze to the two most knowledgeable people I know, Gaster has a smirk on his face, while Caspian looks utterly confused. Neither reaction gives me any reassurance.

What the hell is Nexus training going to look like?